Most of Massachusetts is currently under “severe” or “extreme” drought conditions, the National Drought Monitor said Thursday.
An updated map released by the monitor Thursday said southeastern Massachusetts and the Cape and Islands were in the extreme drought category, as was a stretch of the northern part of Middlesex County.
The monitor describes extreme drought as a level that can bring significant crop and pasture losses, as well as “water shortages or restrictions,” according to its website.
Among the Massachusetts communities enacting restrictions Thursday was Cohasset.
Town officials said Thursday in a statement that a drought warning was “currently in effect for all residents,” and that the warning carries “stricter mandatory outdoor water restrictions” than those previously imposed on Sept. 1 due to “abnormally dry conditions.”
The stricter measures that took effect Thursday, the statement said, include a prohibition on using irrigation systems. In addition, officials said, a “handheld hose